The Extra Wants To Live

"I was wondering why you came here."

"You said you would act as an older brother, so as a younger brother, aren't you giving me the opportunity to act as an older brother?"

"If you want to be helped as a younger brother, why don't you do something about your loud mouth?"

"Yes, brother."

Carl was good at giving answers, but Nero shook his head.

"… What on earth is His Majesty thinking?" Nero muttered worriedly.

To Nero, and even to a third party, Azgoth's actions seemed very strange. Azgoth seemed hell-bent on killing Carl in a proper way, but he also seemed to be pushing him. Deep down, he seemed to want Carl to die. Nero couldn't understand what Azgoth was thinking.

"So can you do it? Or can't you?" Carl pressed.

"Don't fuss. Because then you could get kicked out."

"Yes, what strength does this young and sickly younger brother have that would dare to challenge you?"

"… Okay, I got it. I can do that much."

Nero, who had made a promise to Carl and owed him a debt, and decided that it would be difficult to win her with words, sighed and accepted Carl's request.

"Thank you, older brother. After all, my older brother is the only one I have."

"Then treat him properly as your older brother."

"Of course, older brother."

"You only say 'brother, brother'…"

Even though Nero grumbled, he smiled knowing that Carl completely trusted him and asked him to do so. If Carl had suspected Nero and stayed away from him, this clever and calculating bastard would not have shown weakness or casually asked for a favor.

Nero was one of the few people who knew for sure that Carl was much more sinister than he appeared. He didn't feel bad about the fact that Carl really believed in him so strongly. Nero never even thought that he would be able to feel blood ties other than his mother in this imperial palace.

"Do you need anything?"

"What do you need?" Carl asked.

After finishing his errand, Carl stood up and suddenly said something.

"Yeah, anything."

"Hmm… I don't think you have what I need."

Nero was satisfied that his younger brother was planning to give him anything as a gift, so he declined.

"All right. I tried to get Tumaria's items from Davron if I could, but there's nothing I can do about it. I will invest all the money I spent on my brother's gift into Cecil's gift."

"… For a moment."

"Thank you for doing me a favor. I'll just go."

Carl walked away mercilessly.

"… No."

Nero, who was left alone, muttered in despair.

For Nero, who wanted to leave the imperial palace and travel the world, Tumaria's items were very interesting.

Of course, Nero could get as much as he wanted as long as he wanted. The Beria family had a lot of money. However, what Nero wanted was not expensive fabrics or accessories, but ordinary, everyday items that could be found locally.

And Aric, who everyone thought would become the crown prince, sent Nero to the east to check the east.

If Nero showed interest or went near the east, Aric would light a fire in his eyes and harass Nero.

So, Nero was very interested in the 'common people' things that Carl, who did not have much money, would buy as a gift.

"Damn you," Nero cursed under his breath.

In the end, a curse came out of Nero's mouth.

He said he was going to spend money on Lilly's gift, but now that Nero was overflowing with money, it was a bit difficult to ask Carl to buy a gift for himself as well.

Nero stood up while muttering. No matter what, it was his younger brother's request, and as an older brother, he should listen to it.

---

All preparations were made smoothly. The main thing was that Carl asked for help here and there, but it was also because it was such a shabby situation that there was no need to prepare much in the first place.

"I have lived my entire life without any shame before Duren, and yet my first crime was embezzlement of armor!"

Gilbert lamented, while Catherine secretly packed her armor, which was the right size.

However, she couldn't learn armor magic because she didn't want to be noticed by others. She figured she would have to learn this along the way.

The request Carl made to Nero was handled well. Nero delivered Carl's letter to Davron, while at the same time gaining a rough idea of Davron's situation and relayed it to Carl.

Catherine's prediction was correct.

The Salgarez mercenaries had settled down in the ambiguous gray area between Hardion and Tumarion.

Fortunately, it was not a cavalry-oriented formation, but it was inevitable that things had become complicated.

If Tumaria was a country that greatly respected the autonomy of each territory like Hardion, all Davron could do was lead his troops and rush in to destroy all of the insolent Sargarez's posts.

If they said something had been invaded on their territory, it would just be a matter of one game. What was the problem?

However, Tumaria was a country that maintained a strong centralized system in which all power was concentrated in one Padishah, even though each territory had a lord.

If Davron deployed a large force into the gray area of the border, it would become a challenge to the Padishah of Tumaria.

Even if the situation was dire, if something like that happened, something irreversible would occur.

The Padishah of Tumaria would handle this matter by force for the sake of his authority.

The war, which was barely stopped by Azgoth's policy of focusing on internal affairs, would resume, and countless people would die.

In addition to the money used in the war, the trade between the two countries, which had barely been established, would all return to nothing, and they would have to suffer unimaginable financial losses.

If war broke out in this situation, both sides would have to endure great losses. However, once something happened, they could not back down for the sake of each other's authority.

Therefore, they would try to gain clear benefits from the war, and it was difficult to estimate how far the embers of war would spread. In other words, Carl's mission was not simply the suppression of renegade mercenaries.

"It's a situation where I have to express my regrets, so I'm asking you to keep your head down and come here, even though I don't have anything, but I can still respect myself as a prince."

"It's a sharp, but well-written statement with no flaws."

"Fortunately, it's an easy and simple task."

"There aren't many people other than you who can say that," Nero clicked his tongue.

In aristocratic society, face and prestige were like life. Breaking that down was by no means an easy task.

The same thing happened when people called diplomats went to do diplomacy. It was common for them to raise their heads and complain about something important because they couldn't say a single word of regret.

Of course, for Carl, a small business employee in his late 20s, such a thing was a simple matter that was not even laughable.

If he could prevent war and continue money-making trade by just bowing once and saying hello, wasn't that a win? He had already acted like a savage in the palace, thrown away his own dignity with his own hands, and trampled and ground it to powder, so that wasn't even a thing.

'I didn't mean to tell you to go and die, but to show that you can bend for the greater good.' Carl was slightly relieved.

If the mission had been to go and fight an elite mercenary group with just a handful of troops, it would have been really difficult.

"… I ended up passing the work on to you," Nero said in a slightly disturbed voice.

The work related to the East should have originally been given to Nero according to Balos's strong will. However, because Nero refused so vehemently, the burden was passed on to Carl.

At least it seemed that way to Nero and other nobles.

Even so, it was by no means something for Nero to apologize to Carl. Even though they were brothers, the princes did not have a really close brotherly relationship.

"I don't mind seeing the world. Don't you think it's a shame that you got the chance to get close to Tumari?" Carl smiled and spoke calmly.

Nero looked at Carl quietly with his mouth closed, then smiled bitterly and said, "… Well, I'd like to go someday if I get the chance."

A voice full of frustration and skepticism that did not suit Nero, a cheerful man like the sun.

Nero knew very well that he would never be able to escape this gorgeous and beautiful prison. His dream of traveling the world would never come true.

Now that Azgoth could enjoy his own freedom by simply watching, the small, strictly maintained garden was all that was allowed to him.

As long as his mother Bella was in the imperial palace, Nero could not even escape. And after Atic became emperor, he would become a dog on a leash, following the orders of the great emperor.

"So, do you still need anything?"

"…"

Carl asked the frustrated Nero once again. Nero remained silent with his mouth closed, but then spoke with a grin.

"In Tumaria, they wear bandanas over their faces to block the sandstorm, right? Anything is fine, just get one."

"That's about it."

"And…"

Nero rummaged through his jacket pockets, took something out, and threw it at Carl.

When Carl received it, he saw that it was a golden bracelet with an elaborate pattern engraved on it.

"I hope you can use it to buy a present for Lilly."

"… I don't know if there's anything worth buying with such an expensive item."

"Buy the best you can, and you can keep the rest of the money. Don't be too greedy."

Even if Carl bought something valuable with the golden bracelet, he would still have a lot of money left over.

This was Nero's way of giving his younger brother some pocket money. It was likely Nero's intention to apologize to Carl, who had taken on the task in his place.

"It's not something I should say as I am receiving this and that, but I am worried that you are too soft-hearted."

"Yeah, that's not really what you're saying."

Nero laughed, jumped up, patted Carl on the shoulder, and walked out with a leisurely pace.

Carl looked at Nero's golden bracelet.